1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates to an air bag device for vehicles in which when the bags are expanded the air in the passenger compartment is drawn into the bags.
2. Description Of The Prior Art
In the conventional air bag devices for vehicles which have an air drawing capability of this type, the air in the passenger compartment is drawn through air suction passages provided in the housing by means of a jet stream of a high pressure gas discharged from the nozzle of a gas discharging pipe. The air in the passenger compartment passes in a pressing manner through a one-way valve supported by a supporting plate impermeable to air and is drawn into the bag. For this reason, the housing to be installed in the vehicle must be small in size, and the sectional area of the suction passage cannot be made large because it is limited by the length of the supporting plate, resulting in a decreased air suction efficiency. What is more, since the supporting plate determines the direction of the jet stream to produce a loss of the speed of the jet stream, it is impossible to use a bag to restrain the passenger's knees, the special condition permitting only the use of a bag to restrain the upper half of the passenger's body. This leads to a need for a so-called knee pad and a need for a complicated construction to absorb the energy of the passenger in an ideal manner.